Monthly Archives: September 2011

This sumptuously illustrated book reveals the decorative seams, exquisite stitching, voluptuous drapery, strict corseting and slashing and stamping that make up the clothing in the V&A’s superlative seventeenth and eighteenth-century fashion collection. Using an authoritative text, exquisite colour photography and line drawings of complete garments, the reader is allowed the unique opportunity to look closely at clothing often too fragile to be on display.

My copy arrived in the post today. I had forgotten just how beautiful this book is!

I am going to be teaching at a local Academy in November so that means that I just have to have a new outfit! I am embarrassed to say that it has been far too long since I treated myself to one.

Copyright – Rijksmuseum

This dashing fellow is Lt. Lucas Jacobsz. Rotgans (detail from Thomas de Keyser’s The Militia Company of Captain Allaert Cloeck, 1632). He cuts a fine figure doesn’t he? His outfit, althouhg a bit dated in 1632, was popular in the Netherlands in the 1620’s and nowhere else it seems. I’ve always been particularly drawn to the style of this ensemble so I think that I will try my hand at making it.

As I stated in a previous post the first step is always to do some research.

Oh who am I kidding?

The first step for me is to do a lot of research!

I can’t help it.

I’m a research junkie.

Fortunately, being the junkie that I am, most of the research for the outfit has already been done so completing the outfit on time shouldn’t be a problem.

I won’t bore you with all the research now (that’s material for another post) but if you have any information about Lt. Rotgans’ outfit please feel free to leave a comment below.